How to Make Friends with Your To-Do List

Jonathan Estrin, a movie producer, once said this. How do you spend your time? Do you live in the present and enjoy the moment, or just make it through the week, unwillingly ticking tasks off a to-do list, waiting for the weekend to arrive?

This sad truth is, unfortunately, how many of us approach our daily life. But it does not have to be like this. We can change the way we look at our to-do lists and make them a source of enjoyment, bringing a new spark to our days. But how do you do this, you may ask? We’ll tell you how.

1. Add Actions and Results to Your Tasks

We often add items to a list the same way we do everything else: in a hurry. The result is an amalgam of isolated words that don’t mean much, and as such, they don’t provide great encouragement, to begin with.

So, instead of writing down your tasks in an overly-simplified manner, like “technical report”, “travel agency”, and “mechanic”, add some verbs and emotion to it, such as “finish the technical report and have a cup of coffee!”, “call the travel agency and get tickets to the Bahamas!”, and “take the car to the mechanic and get it as good as new!”. This allows you to automatically approach your tasks with greater enthusiasm and optimism, and enjoy yourself in the process.

2. Rename Your To-Do List

Ultimately, you can call your list whatever you want, if it helps you look at it without instantly wanting to look somewhere else. But our tip is simple: call your list “Get-To-Do List”. As in, you get to finish your report and go home afterward, you get to choose your travel destination when you call the agency, and you get to take your car to a mechanic you trust and get it fixed.

Many psychologists and thinkers regard gratitude as one of the keys to happiness, and this change is a small step towards that.

3. Don’t Rush

Ironically, when we’re in a hurry, time seems to go by even faster. Have you stopped to think about this? It happens because when we’re rushing, we tend to make more mistakes, so we take forever to leave home because we can’t find our phone or our car keys.

The secret is no secret at all: do things more calmly and time will work for you, instead of against you. Wake up earlier if you have to. Sleeping 15 or 30 minutes less won’t make much difference, but the extra time will allow you to enjoy your breakfast, shower, and the rest of your morning routine much more.

Final Tip

If you’re not sure where to write down your to-do list or want to make a change, we recommend trying out the BubblesPlanner app. Besides having tons of features, its colorful approach to lists and tasks perfectly tops off the changes mentioned in our previous tips!